An administrative law judge (ALJ) for the Equal Rights Division of the Department of
Workforce Development issued a decision in this matter. A timely petition for review was
filed.

The commission has considered the petition and the positions of the parties, and it has
reviewed the evidence submitted to the ALJ. Based on its review, the commission agrees
with the decision of the ALJ, and it adopts the findings and conclusion in that decision
as its own.

DECISION

The decision of the administrative law judge (copy attached) is affirmed.

Dated and mailed August 16, 1999cartete.rsd : 125 : 9

/s/ David B. Falstad, Chairman

/s/ Pamela I. Anderson, Commissioner

/s/ James A. Rutkowski, Commissioner

MEMORANDUM OPINION

The complainant's claim in this case is that she was discriminated against on the basis
of disability because her supervisor, Aramis Defort, denied her permission to attend
physical therapy sessions due to her job as chairperson of the M-Team. The ALJ found that
Mr. Defort had not failed to reasonably accommodate a physical or mental impairment when
he refused to allow the complainant to continue to miss M-Team meetings as she had refused
to provide him medical information establishing that she had a disabling condition that
absolutely required that she attend therapy sessions rather than perform her duties as the
chair of the M-Team.

On appeal the complainant argues that the ALJ completely discounted testimony that her
chiropractor, Dr. Gerondale, decided upon a course of treatment of administering therapy
in the morning to provide temporary relief of the pain she was experiencing so that she
could reduce her intake of prescription medication, which was causing negative side
effects, and be able to work more efficiently. This argument fails. The problem that had
arisen was that the complainant was attending therapy sessions on Wednesday and Friday
mornings at the same time that the M-Team meetings were scheduled. While the record does
show that the complainant had supplied Mr. Defort with a statement from Dr. Gerondale that
"Treatments are best performed in the mornings to maximize improvement and minimize
prescription drug use," the complainant had never provided, as had been requested by
Mr. Defort, a doctor's statement showing that she absolutely could not have her therapy at
times other than Wednesday and Friday mornings when the M-Team meetings were scheduled.

The complainant argues that because she had been absent from work on a leave of absence
for her work injury from March 10, 1995 through October 23, 1995, this had caused her to
be "out of assignment," that Norma Jean Halburg had replaced her as the social
worker at Washington High School, that she was assigned to assist Halburg upon returning
to work, and that consequently, her presence at the M-Team meetings was not indispensable
to the M-team's functioning. The record indicates, however, that while Ms. Halburg had
been working at Washington High School as a substitute, that by November 1996 neither Ms.
Halburg nor Mr. Defort believed that Ms. Halburg possessed the experience necessary to be
the high school social worker, which therefore made it imperative that the complainant
attend the M-Team meetings.

Finally, the complainant also argues that the ALJ erred in precluding her from
presenting testimony from Mr. Don Wallace, another social worker. This argument also
fails. Apparently the complainant wanted Mr. Wallace to present testimony showing that
when she returned to work there were new duties for social workers that had not existed
before, that she had missed the training on some of the things expected of her, and that
this had resulted in some "difficulties" between her and Mr. Defort. Whatever
the difficulties that may have existed between the complainant and Mr. Defort over the new
duties expected of social workers, this did not prevent her from submitting a doctor's
statement showing that she absolutely could not have her therapy at times other than
Wednesday and Friday mornings when the M-Team meetings were scheduled.